RE:Still some timeI don't disagree with anything you say Smitty, but none of this precludes a BO from being anounced at any time.
Until an agreement is reached, they have to proceed as if there is no BO agreement, both from a common sense perspective, as well as from a negotiation perspective. Business as usual.
But again, nothijng is stopping LME from reaching an agreement at any time as long as they get the price that they want, and I don't think that full completion of everything you list precludes an offer at the price they want.